Pair of Arizona Baseball freshmen named All-Americans

Despite the season being cut short due to Covid, Arizona Baseball freshmen Mac Bingham and Chandler Murphy were named All-Americans.

Things were just barely getting started, and it was a season in which Arizona Baseball head coach Jay Johnson liked the direction they were headed. “I liked the makeup of the team. We never lost two in a row, so the bounce back factor was good for our team.”

Prior to the season, Arizona did a lot to not only retool their roster, but also their coaching staff. Assistant coach Sergio Brown went to Cal State Fullerton, and Johnson replaced Brown with renowned pitching coach Nate Yeskie, formerly with Oregon State.

Arizona Wildcats

In addition to that, the Wildcats recruited a lot of fresh arms to beef up their rotation and bullpen. And at 15 games through the season, it looked like Arizona may have been finding their rhythm.

Unfortunately, we will never know how 2020 would have played out, as the season was just cut short due to growing concerns in the spread of Covid.

So at this point, all the preparation will go into 2021, and hopefully the Cats will be ready. One good thing is that the Wildcats will two All-Americans coming back.

Yes, despite just playing in 15 games, the Wildcats had two players earn All-American honors just days ago. Freshman outfielder Mac Bingham and freshman pitcher Chandler Murphy put together terrific seasons, earning the distinction.

Mac, a San Diego native burst onto the scene this year, hitting an impressive .361 at the plate with one home run, seven RBI’s and two doubles. His fielding was just as impressive as well, finishing with a .947 fielding percentage, having 18 putouts to just one error.

As for Chandler, he was one of the fresh arms brought in that we were talking about. Hailing from Peoria, AZ, Chandler looked great on the mound in the four starts he appeared in, compiling a 2-0 record with a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched. He would also add to his resume by striking out 19 batters, while walking seven and giving up just five runs.

Together, the two were among Arizona’s better freshmen, and they surely have bright futures moving forward.

Even with 2021 being so far away, Johnson has to be really excited about the direction this team is headed, especially into next season! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!